PM Anwar Ibrahim impersonated by verified Twitter user to stir controversy

It seems like the new Malaysian government has not only spurred optimism, caused a rally in the exchange rate and attracted its first bit of criticism, but it’s also led unscrupulous opportunists to come out in droves. First, we saw scams promising financial aid through the Touch ‘n Go eWallet, and now the Prime Minister’s Department has alerted users to a verified Twitter user impersonating Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim to stoke controversy.

The offending tweet from the @anwarinrahim account (the PM’s official handle is @anwaribrahim) read: “The recognition of UEC [United Examination Certificate] will be discussed on the ministry level and this motion will be approved by the unity government in the future, in line with the Pakatan Harapan manifesto.” Said account appears to have already been suspended.

The department confirmed that the tweet was fake and urged the public not to share any information that is either false or not verified. It also asked them to refer to Anwar’s official Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok profiles for the latest genuine information.

Blurring the line is the fact that both the official and impersonating Twitter accounts carry the blue checkmark, which users have been able to purchase for USD7.99 (RM35.24) for a Twitter Blue subscription since last month. Notably, Anwar’s own account has yet to be accorded the grey checkmark for “official” accounts, supposedly reserved for companies, government officials and other high-profile accounts.

The offending tweet was notable because of the controversy surrounding the UEC, which is issued to students who completed their studies at Chinese independent high schools. The certificate is already recognised by certain private institutions and universities, but isn’t regulated nor recognised by the Ministry of Education.

Pakatan Harapan had been campaigning to recognise the UEC (although to be fair, so did Barisan Nasional) since the last general election (GE14) in 2018. However, the matter was still unresolved when it lost control of the government after the “Sheraton move” in 2020.